“Where are you, Hannah?”
“Exam room one, Matt.” Hannah smiled as she scratched the puppy behind the ears. Kissing the little dog on top of his warm, fuzzy head, she whispered into his fur, “You’re going to like Matt. He’s a super nice guy.”
“Ms. Manchester?” Sheriff Matt appeared in the doorway with his notepad and pen in hand.
The twitching woman visibly paled, then clutched her son in front of her like a shield. She shot Hannah a narrow-eyed sneer before clearing her throat and squaring her rhinestone-studded shoulders. “Actually, my name is Veronica Smith.”
“Is it really, now? Well, that’s very unusual. I ran the plates on your car outside and my info states the registration is under Sylvia Manchester. It also appears there are several warrants out for that name. So, I am afraid I’ll need you and your son to come with me so we can get this little matter cleared up.” Matt tapped his notebook with his pen as he stood in the doorway and smiled.
“What about my son? You can’t expect my son to sit in a jail with a bunch of hardened criminals. I’ll call the media and every lawyer I can find. I’ll make sure everyone knows how you have mistreated my son.” The woman hugged the boy tighter against the front of her skintight miniskirt.
Matt’s smile widened, and he winked at the boy. “Social Services is on the way. My best friend Cassie is outside in her van and she would love to meet him. They’ll be more than happy to take care of him while you and I sit down and have a nice long chat.”
Whirling on Hannah, the woman snatched her purse from beside the table and glared at the dog as though she wished it were dead. “You bitch! All you had to do was clip the mutt’s tail! Was that so frigging much to ask?” The woman stormed out of the office in front of the sheriff, yanking her son behind her.
“Bye, Matt,” Hannah called after them then she kissed the puppy’s head again. “I will get you fixed up in a fantastic forever home in no time, my little friend. See? I told you Matt was a really nice guy.”
“Now there goes quite an unpleasant woman. How much did ye overcharge her to tend her pet? I have never heard such foul language spew out of a woman. Leastwise, not all in one breath.” Taggart sidled through the doorway, staring down the hallway. “Yer fine sheriff there is herding the cursing wench with his notebook and she’s pulling a squalling lad down yer front steps.”
“I didn’t overcharge her, and that is her poor son, who she is training in her evil ways.” Hannah hugged the puppy closer. “I took this little guy away from her. She doesn’t deserve him. He told me all the cruel things she and her son were up to.” She turned away, cuddling the warm pup closer, while trying to stave off the tickling shiver that crept across her as soon as Taggart entered the room. Why didn’t he go back to Scotland and leave her alone? He had done nothing but complicate her life ever since he arrived.
“The dog spoke to ye, did he? Told ye all the evils they did?” Taggart grinned; one of his sleek dark brows arched higher.
“Um, well, yes . . . I mean . . .” She turned away and flipped the light back on behind the x-ray film. Damn him. He would have to be someone who actually listened to everything she said. She never had that problem with Jake. “Look at this. Their story was the boy broke the puppy’s tail when he accidentally slammed it in a car door. But they are trying to pass him off as a pedigreed dog that should have had his tail docked at just a few days old. Then the mother wanted me to bob it so she could sell him in some sort of dog ring in Chicago. They’re running some sort of scam.”
“Ye can trust me, Hannah,” he said softly. “Remember? I know yer family’s history. About all their gifts, ye ken?”
Could she really trust him? No one but Jake, Mama, and Granny had ever known she could hear an animal’s thoughts.
“Hand me the pup. Let me show ye something. I will prove that ye can trust me.” He held out his hands and waited, an irresistible smile tugging the corners of his mouth.
“Mind his tail. It’s fractured in several places.” She eased the canine into his hands. Her heart warmed when the little dog planted its clumsy front paws on Taggart’s chest and licked him in greeting.
“There’s a good lad. That’s enough now. I think ye are a fine lad, too. Hold still now while I heal yer wee tail so it doesna pain ye.” He held his right hand above the puppy’s tail while holding the little dog steady with his left. A faint glow appeared around his fingers, then disappeared into the canine.
The puppy yipped while wagging its tail, then looked at Hannah with its tongue lolling out its mouth.
“What did you do?” She picked up the wriggling animal and set it on the floor.
“I healed him. That is why ye can trust me. I too am gifted with magic.” He folded his arms across his chest, smiling at the puppy racing around in circles. “That is also how I sensed the threat the other day. I have trained many years to make the most of my skills. Come with me to Taroc Na Mor. At least let me show ye what awaits if ye dare to embrace it.”
The young dog caught her attention. She grabbed a handful of paper towels. “Nice. You could have told me you needed to pee.” She blotted up the yellow puddle spreading across the floor. Indecision battled within in her. How could what he said be true? But then again, he had healed the puppy. And protected her in the woods. So how could he be lying? “You make it sound like a training ground for witches, some sort of academy of magic.”
“I promise ye. Taroc Na Mor is not a school. But it is a great deal more than a mere castle hidden in the Highlands. ’Tis not something I can explain. Ye will feel it when ye stand upon the land.”
While disinfecting the floor, she wished she could clean up her life with as much ease. Why did he have to show up and complicate things? As long as she had ignored those stupid packets, life seemed so much simpler. After returning the mop to the corner, she ventured a look at his face. As soon as their eyes met, she found herself locked in his stare. And then she shivered. There they were—those damned eyes Millie had swooned over. They pierced right through her. But something else lurked in those icy-blue depths. An aching mimicked the pain throbbing with every beat of her heart. She shied away from his suffering, both unwilling and unable to get caught up in his sorrow. She had her own wounds to nurse.
“Come with me,” he whispered, edging a step closer and barely tracing a fingertip down her arm.
His words meant madness. Utter chaos. Everything that meant anything to her was right here in Jasper Mills. How could she go toScotland, to this mysterious Taroc Na Mor? She hugged away from his touch. “I can’t think with you doing that. I don’t know what to do. Why did you have to show up here and turn everything upside down? I had my life all straightened out until you showed up.”
“I came here to protect ye. If I hadna come, ye would have met the same fate as yer mother. Or perhaps something even worse.” He blew out a heavy sigh, dropped his hand, and took a step back.
She whirled and stared at him. “What do you meanor something even worse? What do you know about my mother?”
His pained expression spoke volumes. That and the way his gaze dropped reminded her of Sophie’s guilty look every time she escaped from her kennel. She took another step forward. “Tell me something. If your Guild of Barac’Nairn has been around for so long taking care of the Sullivans of Taroc Na Mor, then where were they for my grandmother and my mother? Why is this the first time your Guild of Barac’Nairn has appeared in my life? Where were they when my mother needed them? Where were they when I had no one to raise me but my grandmother?”
“We failed them.” His deep voice cracked with remorse as he bowed his head. “I can make no excuses. We lost track of the Sullivan lineage, and through our carelessness, allowed them both to die.”
